John Ringling Blvd. Bridge, Sarasota, FL, USA, 23-Mar-2013

9:30 PM
Protocol: Incidental
Comments: As Kim & I drove home from dinner in St. Armand's.
1 species

Black-crowned Night-Heron 6 all perched on pillars alongside the road bridge, facing out to the water; size, colour & head streamers distinctive even at 40mph in the dark.

View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S13539232

W Perry Lane--N Indiana Ave Intersection, Sarasota, FL, USA, 22-Mar-2013

1:45 PM

Protocol: Incidental
Comments: Kim & I on our way to Stump Pass beach on 776, I spotted some raptors soaring west off the road. Weather: cloudy, warm.
2 species

Black Vulture 2
Swallow-tailed Kite 1 soaring alongside black vultures back towards Englewood. From the road it initially looked almost like a gull, but I spotted its fork tail & knew immediately what it was. We pulled over at the intersection & I looked through binoculars to see the tail & pale undersides contrasting with grey forward underparts: unmistakable. It sailed off east into the distance. Life-tick.

View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S13480475

Highlands Ranch to Denver Airport, Arapahoe, CO, USA, 14-Mar-2013

8:00 AM - 9:00 AM

Protocol: Traveling
40.0 mile(s)
Comments: In a taxi from my hotel to the airport.
Weather: bright, sunny, cool.
7 species

Canada Goose X
Red-tailed Hawk X - a few seen along the way including one western dark-morph on a fencepost off the highway.
Ring-billed Gull X
Northern Flicker 1 on a lamppost in the carpark of the cinema next door to the hotel, drumming & calling.
Black-billed Magpie 6 in a small tree on a rough patch of unspoiled land seen from the highway.
American Robin X
Red-winged Blackbird 2 in the same patch of land as the magpies.

View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S13634157

Interstate 470--Intersection 177, Douglas, CO, USA, 11-Mar-2013

5:30 PM
Protocol: Incidental
Comments: Heading to hotel on business trip with work colleagues, seen from the car.
Weather: cold and grey but with some blue.
2 species

Black-billed Magpie 1 flew up on to a bush next to the road. Life-tick.
American Crow X - also seen at various points along the road to the hotel.

View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S13371782

Route 72--Sugar Bowl Road--Clay Gully Road, Manatee, FL, USA, 20-Nov-2012

11:00 AM - 12:15 PM

Protocol: Traveling
35.0 mile(s)
Comments: Out for a drive with mother-in-law & father-in-law on the roads around Myakka State Park. I was mainly hoping to see crested caracara after reading that a couple were resident in the area, however I also read that one of those birds had been poisoned, either way I didn't see my target bird although it was an interesting area of ranchland to drive through.
Weather: bright, sunny, warm.
13 species

Wood Stork 14 all in small drainage ditch off Clay Gully Road, feeding in the water with the egrets. A good number of an impressively sized species, causing me to count carefully.
Anhinga X - one or two visible from the road through the state park.
Great Egret X
Cattle Egret X
Black Vulture X - including a few that were raiding the rubbish bins left out on the road!
Turkey Vulture X
Osprey X
Red-shouldered Hawk X
Sandhill Crane 2 feeding in the fields of the ranches.
Belted Kingfisher 1 along the same ditch as the storks.
American Kestrel X
American Crow X
Fish Crow X

View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S13634807

Sarasota--Route 75, Sarasota, FL, USA

Nov 19, 2012 10:15 AM
Protocol: Incidental
Comments: Driving to Celery Fields reserve bird-life seemingly abounding on the side of the highway.
12 species

Wood Stork 1 soaring over Exit 206; a large bird, obvious identification, life-tick.
Anhinga 1
Great Egret X
Snowy Egret X
Black Vulture X
Turkey Vulture X
Osprey 1 near Exit 210.
Northern Harrier 1 ringtail at Exit 210.
Bald Eagle 2 along the way, flying near to the highway, close enough to see the white head, giving the impression of being a fairly common bird in the area. Life-tick.
American Kestrel 2 separately hunting in fields along the road.

Loggerhead Shrike 1 perched on a fencepost on some road-side ranch-land. Distinct profile, colouring and distribution identified even from a fleeting look. I could only hope for a closer, longer look. Life-tick.
Fish Crow 1 obviously smaller than American crow, & the more numerous crow in Florida. Life-tick.

View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S13642742

Englewood Isles Parkway, Sarasota, FL, USA, 18-Nov-2012

2:45 PM

Protocol: Incidental
Comments: Weather: bright, sunny & warm. <br />Submitted from BirdLog NA for iOS, version 1.5.2
1 species

Sandhill Crane 2 laying on roadside verge between road & houses! Life-tick.

Sarasota--Route 75, Sarasota, FL, USA, 17-Nov-2012

5:15 PM

Protocol: Incidental
Comments: Species seen on the road after leaving the airport, many in flocks apparently flying to roosts as dusk descended.
Weather: bright, sunny, warm.
8 species

Anhinga 1 female (non-breeding) on stump in a roadside swamp.
Great Egret 1 over the road.
Cattle Egret 1 non-breeding perched in carpark when nearing Eden Drive.
White Ibis X - many over the road in 3s & 4s, distinctive, life-tick.
Glossy Ibis X - large flocks over the road, distinctive, life-tick.
Black Vulture 3 total, first two flying/soaring with shallow dihedral then one atop a telegraph pole at the side of the highway. Life-tick.
Sandhill Crane 3 approx. glimpsed on a roadside lake from the highway. Unmistakable, life-tick.
Common Grackle X

View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S13642686

Titchwell Village, Norfolk, UK, 26-Feb-2011

11:15 AM
Protocol: Incidental
Comments: With Sian driving just past Titchwell Village.
3 species

Red-legged Partridge 4
Merlin 1 flew rapidly across the road & into a nearby field. Fortunately we were able to pull off the road & have a look at the bird as it perched on a tree. Unfortunately it flew off before I could get the 'scope setup but it's quickness & smallness made me think 'merlin' straightaway.
Stock Dove 2

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)

Wolferton Triangle, Norfolk, UK, 26-Feb-2011

9:15 AM
Protocol: Incidental
Comments: Out for the day across Norfolk with Sian. First stop hoping for a local specialty.
1 species

Golden Pheasant 2 flew out onto the road, 1 after just turning off the A149 then another as we headed back onto it.

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)

Docking, Norfolk, UK, 2-Jan-2011

12:30 PM
Protocol: Incidental
Comments: Driving to The Broads with Kim.
1 species

Bohemian Waxwing 12 along the road, which then flew into various back gardens before flying away.

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)

Wolferton Triangle, Norfolk, UK, 30-Dec-2010

7:50 AM - 10:50 PM
Protocol: Traveling
0.5 mile(s)
Comments: Out early with mum. Took a quick walk into the woods by the road for golden pheasant, unsuccessfully.
Weather: dull, cold, warm.
5 species

Eurasian Sparrowhawk 1
Eurasian Woodcock 1 scuttled across the road as we drove out.
Common Wood-Pigeon X
Goldcrest X
Eurasian Siskin X - heard.

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)

Bunn's Lane, Mill Hill, London, 18/12/2010

10:45-11:15am. Weather: cold, snowing & increasing in heaviness.

I'd been checking the London Birds Wiki & was pleased to see the waxwings apparently getting closer & closer. After reports from the past couple of days of them in nearby Mill Hill it was too good an opportunity to pass up despite the warnings of dire consequences for people travelling in the snow due to the usual staggering un-preparedness of the whole country to tackle 3 inches of snow!

The snow began to fall as I set-off & was quite heavy by the time I picked up Sian from Colindale tube stop. Undeterred we ploughed on round the corner, & almost as soon as we reached the reported postcode, NW7 2EX, I spotted activity from high trees behind a row of houses there. I parked up in a side-street, scanned the trees & realised straightaway that there were approximately 30 Bohemian Waxwing at the top of the trees.



We got out of the car for a closer look & to take some photos & focussed on the high trees, however we soon saw a few take flight & realised they were headed for a small berry tree right behind us, & as we turned to face this tree noticed that it already had a few waxwings munching on the berries! For the next 20 minutes we watched from a few metres away as flocks of a dozen or so commuted between the tall birches behind the houses down to the road-side berry tree where they greedily scoffed the berries. They were very mobile & often seemed disturbed by the normal flow of the traffic passing by. At one point they were joined by an equally hungry Mistle Thrush.



Eventually the waxwings did what turned out to be one final commute before all heading off east, & though we waited for 5-10 minutes they didn't reappear. The snow continued falling heavily so we decided to head off before total chaos erupted on the roads.

When I got home & examined my photos I noticed one that was colour-ringed & reported it to the ring.ac website.



All-in-all a very satisfactory little trip out. These were Sian's first ever waxwings & my first in 23 years; my previous sighting was of a solitary bird in Galashiels, Scotland, 3rd January 1987!

A149 Holkham - Burnham Overy, Norfolk, UK, 21-Nov-2010

15:30
Protocol: Incidental
Comments: Continuing a drive along the coast with Kim.
Weather: dank & murky.
2 species

Eurasian Marsh-Harrier 1 juvenile/female.
Hen Harrier 1 ringtail flying over the field by the side of the road. Kim & I were able to pull over & take a look before it flew away & to me it appeared subtly different to other hen harriers I'd seen in flight & behaviour. It flew confidently alongside a road & there had been reports of a Northern Harrier in the area so I wondered if this was the same bird. It certainly put me in mind of a northern harrier I had seen at Sachuest Point in Rhode Island rather than the wintering birds I'd seen at Roydon Common.

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)

Titchwell Village, Norfolk, UK, 21-Nov-2010

13:30 - 14:30
Protocol: Stationary
Comments: For a drive up the coast with Kim we stopped at the site of a reported bean goose.
Weather: dull, cold, misty & dank.
5 species

Tundra Bean-Goose 1 lone goose amongst the large pink-foot flock was picked out by various birders who had gathered to look for it. It was coloured differently & with a different jizz so though no easy task to pick it out once found it was fairly easy to identify.
Pink-footed Goose X - large flock feeding in the field.
Greater White-fronted Goose 2 also in with the pink-feet (& bean), easy to notice & identify due to their prominent white forehead which looked especially bright in the gloom.
European Robin X - field's hedgerow.
Fieldfare 30 in a flock moving around the field, mostly among the hedgerow around the fields.

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)

The Gambia, West Africa, 19-26/02/2010

I was lucky enough to spend a wonderful week in The Gambia amongst its colourful & exotic birdlife. It was a fantastic experience which provided me with an almost overwhelming number of spectacular new bird species. It took some time to process, but I took lots of photos (see right-hand side navigation) which helped me process them all eventually. Kim & I also had a fantastic guide, called Tamba Suso who ensured that we missed very little & I am very grateful to him for his expert knowledge & great personality which really helped us enjoy our holiday, so I can heartily recommend him if anyone is visiting the country.
I'm going to detail more casual observations, mainly around the Senegambia hotel, in one post here but more specific outings will be detailed in separate posts.

19/02/2010 - Banjul Airport to Senegambia Hotel
From the coach transfer I did my best to pick up a few species, mainly identified from 'the book' when I reached the hotel room.
Pied Crow - distinctive & ubiquitous;
Hooded Vulture - large raptor soaring over the runway, the ubiquitous 'sanitary inspector';
Speckled Pigeon - a quite large pigeon & also distinctive;
Laughing Dove - small dove feeding along the roadside with the speckled pigeons, they were also plentiful at the hotel where I identified it from close-up views;
Grey Kestrel - perched on wires next to the road, unmistakeable light grey colour & vivid yellow feet & bill.

19/02/2010 - Senegambia Hotel
Village Weaver - all over the hotel grounds, large & gregarious;
Red-Eyed Dove - another regular, particularly around the swimming pool where they came very close;
Cattle Egret - around the grounds, stealing guests' food or on the lawns looking for their more natural foodstuffs;
Broad-Billed Roller - I saw a roller from the swimming pool, on the first evening but wasn't sure which species, however it reappeared most evenings in favourite trees & at the end of the trip there were a pair, which allowed me to quickly pin it down as broad-billed;
Red-Billed Hornbill - a couple of these quirky birds had their territory right outside our room on a large tree & we would see them everyday, in fact most mornings they would bang on the patio windows apparently attacking their reflections!
Grey Woodpecker - seen from the room's balcony, a pair perched atop a dead tree;
Black Kite - another ubiquity around the hotel, gracefully looking for food scraps before the vultures could get there;
Long-Tailed Glossy Starling - several around the gardens near the room, very distinctive & with a loud call, the first I saw were flying overhead.
African Palm Swift - also overhead, grey & with long tail-forks but usually silent unlike the eurasian variety.

20/02/2010 - Senegambia Hotel

Breakfast:
Common Bulbul - one of a few species keeping a beady eye out for scraps us tourists left at breakfast, there were usually a few perched in the trees nearby;
Village Weaver - in greater numbers than the bulbuls;
Red-Billed Firefinch - unmistakeable, the odd individual would frequent the breakfast area - more of a ground-feeder than the other species;
Cattle Egret - perched like pigeons around the dinners - very bold & hungry!

Vulture Feeding:
Hooded Vulture - 30 - 40 waiting for the daily feed & watering, almost oblivious to the people around them;
Pied Crow, Cattle Egret - a few amongst the vultures;
Black Kite - 30 - 40, all airborne plucking the chunks of fatty meat from the air as they were tossed up.

Room & Pool:
Long-Tailed Glossy Starling, Laughing Dove, Red-Eyed Dove.
Green Vervet Monkey, Red Colobus Monkey - lounging round the pool people started to point in my direction, not because of my glowing white skin but because the monkey troop had arrived & one was sitting on the top of my sun-shelter. Despite the prominent signs asking people not to it wasn't long before the monkeys were munching their way through peanuts & bananas offered by the poolside tourists & as a consequence they were very photogenic. The lone red colobus though was obviously not as friendly & was actually a bit mean-looking.

21/02/2010 - Senegambia Hotel

Beach:
Blue-cheeked Bee-eater - a couple flew up from the south, chirping as they went, another distinctive species flying acrobatically;
Red-Chested Swallow - I had noticed a few hirundines flying up the coast during the previous couple of days but after a trip out to Lamin I was able to retrospectively identify the species as red-chested, apparently more frequent here. I was struck though that if any of the birds were European barn swallows then I was observing their northward migration & that I might see them next in the UK in Spring.
Broad-Billed Roller - on its regular perching spots.

Garden Walk (5:30pm to 7:30pm):
A repeat of Tamba's guided hotel garden walk, I took Kim this time & saw more or less the same species:
African Palm Swift, White-Capped Robinchat, Senegal Coucal, Red-Billed Firefinch, Bronze Manakin.
Grey-Backed Camaroptera - elusive amongst pondside trees, I saw one later in the holiday much closer up which allowed me to identify this one retrospectively.
African Thrush, Black-Necked Weaver, Beautiful Sunbird, Yellow-Capped Gonolek.
Piapiac - again striding on the lawn.
Brown Babbler, Common Bulbul, Village Weaver.

23/02/2010 - Senegambia Hotel

Breakfast:
Beautiful Sunbird, Red-Billed Hornbill - amongst the foliage outside room;
Harrier Hawk - we took a slightly different path to breakfast, past the vulture feeding green & were rewarded with this spectacular raptor standing just off the path probably looking for scraps. It soon flew off into the trees but was fantastic to see so unexpectedly.
Cattle Egret, Common Bulbul, Village Weaver, Red-Billed Firefinch - usual breakfast regulars!
Lavender Waxbill - an attractive new species for breakfast, it shyly flitted down from the trees once or twice. Reminiscent of the firefinches but the opposite in colour.
Black Kite, Hooded Vulture, Pied Crow - ubiquitous.

Beach:
Broad-Billed Roller - by this time there were two, flying over the beach pool & hotel gardens;
Green Wood Hoopoe - a couple flew up into the large palm tree next to the beach pool & then off again. A striking bird I was able to see them amongst the thick foliage before they flew off.
Red-Chested Swallow, Grey-Headed Gull - along the coastline.

24/02/2010 - Senegambia Hotel

Breakfast:
Bearded Barbet - having seen this species for the first time the day before at Kotu Creek, amazingly we saw one perched on the side of the main hotel building as we walked to breakfast with an unmistakeable profile. Later a fellow birder on holiday told us he hadn't seen one at all despite going up-river, not that he was fussed as he'd seen over 200 other species!

Beach:
African Silverbill - a couple flitted along the tops of the beach huts as I lounged in the sun. The best way to pick up a life-tick!
Grey-Headed Gull - up & down out at sea.

Room Balcony (6pm to 7pm):
Broad-Billed Roller, African Palm Swift.
Little Swift - a couple amongst the palm swifts, less elegant, more like common swift but with a stubby tail. They didn't stick around for as long as the palms swifts though & I only saw them once or twice.
Mosque Swallow - I spotted two of these, higher up than the others & a much larger hirundine, almost falcon like with an unhurried flight action.

26/10/2010 - Banjul Airport
Fork-Tailed Drongo - on the approach roads;
House Sparrow - a familiar bird from home around the terminal building.

23 new species.

Dersingham Bog Bypass, Norfolk, 20/12/2009

4:30pm. Weather: cold, snowing.

Woodcock - 2 flying along the road.

Martha's Vineyard, MA, USA, 08/09/2009

Arrived 11:30am, until nightfall.
Weather: warm but some cloud, hazy sunshine.

All day visit to the famous island for some sight-seeing which also meant a few species were spotted throughout the day.

Padanaram to Wood's Hole:
Great White Egret, Mourning Dove.

Wood's Hole Ferry Crossing:
Osprey - sitting on a nesting platform on the quay, unbothered by the ferry pulling out.
Herring Gull, Great Black-Backed Gull.

Vineyard Haven:
Red-Tailed Hawk, House Sparrow - as we had lunch in the quayside pagoda.

North Tisbury:
American Goldfinch - feeding in a garden, surprisingly the first time I'd seen one.
Starling.

The Lagoon:
Double-Crested Cormorant & American Crow - on an area of water next to the town whilst we waited for the tour bus.
Northern Mockingbird - a couple flying about squabbling which allowed a good view, showing their striking grey & white plumage, so I subsequently had no problem identifying another new species.
Green Heron - a juvenile flew to the top of tall tree next to the lagoon where it perched for a while trying to blend in which it was fairly successful at. The relative close-up & time it stayed allowed me to have a good look which allowed me to retrospectively identify the one I'd seen at Padanaram a few days earlier, especially when it flew off back to the waterside.

Oak Bluffs:
Osprey - 3 soaring & calling over the town.

Aquinnah:
Seal, Eider - on the sea off the cliffs.
Black Scoter - also in the sea, a black bird with a bright yellow 'knob'; although a distant view a easy one to identify.
Skunk - unbelievably confident (there are no predators on the island) it strolled through the picnic area across the little main street & into another picnic area, where it threatened to raise its tail to a curious dog before the dog was lifted up by its owner who ran away along with everyone else, me included! The skunk then nonchalantly carried on its way into the undergrowth.
Canada Goose.

Edgartown:
Double-Crested Cormorant - approx 100 around the bay.

18 species, 3 new.

Aylesbury - Wilstone - Marsworth, Bucks & Herts, 23/11/2008

Weather: cold, wintry showers. From 3:15pm.

Another trip to the Aylesbury layby to hopefully see the short-eared owls again, this time a bit earlier. However a day that started off with snow followed by a torrential downfall (at least in London) had me thinking that the owls would stay at hidden away out of it, but by mid-afternoon some sunshine convinced me it was worth a visit.

I arrived & joined a couple of others, the sun still shining but unfortunately after 15 minutes or so, & after admiting a bright rainbow, the black clouds on the horizon, heavy with precipitation, moved closer bringing their rainfall with them which sent me scurrying back to the car. I had only managed to see a couple of Kestrel & a lone Buzzard in the far trees, & nothing but Crows & Woodpigeon in the fields.

The first heavy shower passed by & from the car still nothing could be seen in the fields as dusk came on quickly. Another shower soon followed & it was enough to convince me that the owls would not be appearing this evening, however because I was nearby I thought I'd pop in on Wilstone & see if could pick out anything from the wall in the gloom, or even maybe see a little owl, a few of which are occasionally reported.

At Wilstone, from the reservoir's wall, I was struck by the large number of Black-Headed Gulls roosting on the water, hundreds at least. Also in the gathering gloom I picked out Tufted Duck, Mute Swan, Great-Crested Grebe, Pochard & Coot.

Finally I decided to call in on Marsworth to see if I could catch the big starling roost which I'd also read about, though I suspected that I would be too late. And so it proved to be, though I could hear them chattering away in the reeds I had missed any spectacular aerial acrobatics, however a Sparrowhawk zipping low through the trees over the reeds meant it wasn't a complete loss, & there were also a few Shoveler on the water.

12 species.

A41 Lay-by, Berryfields, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, 15/11/2008

Weather: overcast, damp & mild. From 4pm.

After reading great reports of exciting & nearby birds on "birding tring reservoirs" blog I decided to check out the lay-by on the A41, adjacent to some rough grassland, at dusk in the hope of seeing the short-eared owls, a species I haven't seen in many years & which Kim had not seen before.

Sure enough after arriving & joining the half dozen or so other birders it wasn't long before the first Short-Eared Owl was seen perched in the far distance. No sooner did I have that one through the 'scope than another was spotted to the right & as I tracked it with the binoculars another couple appeared in the background with it, these then proceeded to quarter the grassland to the right on the far side of the Quainton road. I have only ever seen two before so to see more together in such an accessible area was fantastic. One then continued to quarter the grassland from right to left coming ever closer before it finally pounced down a few hundred yards away & unfortunately it didn't re-appear.

The light faded quite quickly after that & apart from a Kestrel which zipped over, the show was over. Unfortunately we arrived too late to see the hen harrier seen by the other birders & also dipped on tawny owl, but now I know the site I hope to return earlier in the day.